Health care industry expected to lead job growth through 2024

Updated 2:07 pm, Friday, September 30, 2016

Photo: Mark Conrad / For Hearst Connecticut Media

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Virginia Oliver gets a visit at her home in Bridgeport from Collette Sengupta of the Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut on June 24. With this visit the Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut reached the 10 million patient care visits mark. less

Virginia Oliver gets a visit at her home in Bridgeport from Collette Sengupta of the Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut on June 24. With this visit the Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut reached the 10 ... more

Photo: Mark Conrad / For Hearst Connecticut Media

Health care industry expected to lead job growth through 2024

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The health care industry is expected to continue its steady growth in Connecticut and across the nation as people live longer and choose home care more often.

Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest 10-year projections, basing its data on a look-ahead to 2024. Health care is projected to be by far the fastest growing sector in the nation, with 3.8 million jobs expected to be added through 2024 — a 1.9 percent increase per year.

In Connecticut, 25,000 health care jobs are projected to be added to the employment rolls through 2024.

“It’s certainly not a surprise and it doesn’t make Connecticut any different from the country as a whole,” said Patrick Flaherty, an economist with the state Department of Labor. “The main reason is because the average age of the population is increasing. People are living longer and as they get older they require more health care.”

Most of Connecticut’s growth is expected to be in ambulatory, or outpatient, settings and home health care.

She said more people are choosing to leave the hospital earlier and finish their care in the comfort of their home. As the number of people seeking home health care rises, so must the resources needed to care for them, Therien said.

“Our staff is growing,” she said. “We’re growing, specifically in the nursing area.”

Home health aides count among six of the top occupations across the country expected to add roughly 300,000 jobs or more over the next 10 years. Of those occupations, four are in the health care sector, including personal care aides, registered nurses and nursing assistants.

Food preparation and serving workers and retail salespersons are the other two major occupations expected to see a rise in the number of workers by 2024.

Personal care aide positions are expected to rise significantly in Connecticut too. With a projected increase of 6,417 jobs by 2024, the occupation is expected to see the highest increase in labor force, followed by food service workers with an expected addition of 3,159 jobs.

Connecticut’s top 10 also includes home health aides and registered nurses.

Because of the rise in home care needs, Therien said it has become increasingly important to help patients take part in their own care and become more independent rather than relying on nurses and other medical staff.

“That’s how we’re going to be able to meet the demand,” Therien said.

While nursing and therapy, which require a higher education and skill level, are relatively well-paying jobs, other positions, like home health aides, are in a lower salary bracket.

The median annual wage for personal care aides in 2014 was $20,440, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Home health aides made just slightly more at $21,380, while registered nurses had a median annual wage of $66,640.

Michael Gargano, president of St. Vincent's College, said he has seen a spike in the number of people interested in their programs. “At the college we see an increase in applications and our enrollments, especially in our nursing programs and certificate programs,” he said.

The college also recently started a pilot program to partner with the Bridgeport public school district, with 20 students at Bassick High School to take courses at St. Vincent's College and graduate with a high school diploma, a health-care certificate, and college degree credits.

Flaherty said the projections are best guesses as to where the labor pool will go in a 10-year period. “The projections are assuming a full employment economy in 2024,” he cautioned. “We know the unemployment will never be zero.”

However, Flaherty said having an idea where the jobs will be can help states, local school and college systems and employers know how to prepare for that scenario.

“You want to make sure the workforce you have has the skills needed for that economy,” he said.